Sunday, April 15, 2007

Cash for Peerages Charges Imminent?

The News of the World reports that Inspector Yates will be handing his file to the CPS within the next ten days and that three people - Ruth Turner, Lord Levy and Sir Christopher Evans - are likely to face charges. A CPS told the NOTW...

We expect a report frm the Police at the end of next week or the start ofthe week after. We believe they want to charge three people, though that mayrise.

Just what you want in the middle of the local election campaign, isn't it? However, it is thought that the CPS will take some time before deciding whether to lay charges. Indeed, I suspect it won't happen until Tony Blair has long left Number Ten. Still, I'm sure MacAvity will cope...

22 comments:

And their defence will of course be that only one person is able to give out donations. I had thought that this episode had been put on some sort of temporary hold. By the way, what's happening on the second Red Book of New Labour Sleaze. I was hoping to contribute.

Sometimes I think I'm missing something here. Whilst Blair is a lying, pusillanimous toady who has sold the country he purportedly leads down the drain, still, I can't see what's essentially wrong with selling peerages for cash.

Everyone knows the adage: When I want a peerage, I'll buy it like an honest man.

A little under the table and a little 'ow's yer father' keeps the world turning, surely.

anonymous: not if I'm on the jury. Of cause I will well & truly decide on the evidence heard in court, having heard it all before, there will be only Guilty available. of cause if they would like to mitigate factors by revealing the truth, and a charge of treason is bought on the TONE. well a little consideration would not go amiss. Just 30 years with hard labour

James Higham - Like you, I don't really mind rich people buying peerages, but Blair's been a rather too enthusiastic a huckster in the Westminster bargain basement. I mean, there are limits. Seven hundred new peers is just too many placemen for any honest Parliament to stomach.

What is heartwarming is, Levy has already said he's not taking the hit for Blair. What we know about Levy is, he's about a million times more intelligent than Tony and rich enough to hire the best legal brain in Britain.

Sir Christopher Evans is loaded, too. What's more, like Levy, he made his own money, which means he's smart, too.

Tony and Cherie's future earnings in the US and his "legacy" are taking on a more and more chimerical aspect by the minute. Such cheerful news for a Sunday morning.

BTW, Iain, you perpetrated that dreadful reading of McCavity on the internet - I can still hear TS Eliot rotating - so could you please at least learn to spell it correctly?

The CPS are a load of useless tossers who can safely be left to sit on this, lose most of the files, and then give it to a junior to deal with, who then goes on compassionate leave for 6 months, where she falls pregnant, so gets 5 yrs paid maternity leave and no-one else can deal with the case, and when she gets back she is allowed to work family-friendly hours and DOES HAVE A BIT OF A BACKLOG TO DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW!

Voyager - Yes, it's illegal and I don't believe James Higham was talking about a straight forward transaction. And nor was I. But rich people are in positions of power and they can do favours.

Blair and the slithy toves were selling peerages for money, to support the Labour party.

Let's face it, since time began, rulers rewarded the faithful with titles. In Blair's case, it was a crude, straightforward transaction to further the aims of a political party rather than the country.

And this wasn't the odd favour here and there. Blair was involved in dishing out peerages on an industrial level.

If nothing substantial occurs as a result of this investigation, i mean charges broughts against levy and at least one other, the public will just dismiss it as a whitewash. This likely outcome is very bad news for the next government as politics will be seen as further corrupted and thus irrelevent.

it is a very dangerous time for politics in the uk, to have a lame duck brown follow a lame duck blair for 2 years of pratting about as they slide to a crushing election defeat will make Camerons prize worthless.

Justice must be seen to be done, even if the real culprit gets away scot free as he surely will, in some way or trust in government could evaporate completely and in a way that leads to civil disobedience or other such problems.

I think most people are too complacent about this issue, or dont want to think about its scary implications, as those in Westminster on all sides hope it will die a natural death.

How can any Labour official be exhonerated when 14m was spent by Brown himself as campaign leader to win the last election without the public feeling justice has been done??

As "Judged..." says there is a grave danger that the antics of the Blair rtegime will permenantly damage the standing of politicians in the country. Well, damage it to the point where any recover is almost impossible; the other lot were hardly backward in coming forward to dishonour the office of public representative, after all.

His focus groups and consultants may be telling him otherwise, but I think if Cameron really wants to make his mark he has to produce a credible set of policies that will restore the public's confidence in their elected and appointed servants. Of course he will then have to carry them through. Nothing else can save them.